Une visite d’artiste!

Kwakwaka’wakw artist Simon James returned to École Westridge this month to touch up his tableau at our front entrance. Students learned about the carving’s history and significance.

They learned that it was carved from ancient cedar over 1000 years old! They also learned of the 10 animals on artwork and what they each represent. Each animal represents a school value.

Mr. James also spoke of the importance of knowing one’s culture and celebrating it. Students were encouraged to think of their own culture(s). Where do their elders come from?

As a thank you gesture, Division 10 students drew pictures of an animal or plant discussed during his artist talk. One student drew a detail shared about Mr. James education as a carver in his Indigenous community. Finally, when expressing gratitude, could they say ‘thank you’ in their elders’ language(s)?

We recognized that we all share English and French culture via the languages we’re learning every day. However, our classroom is wonderfully diverse with roots spanning not only across the country, but the world.

Où on vit

At École Westridge, we’re learning to acknowledge traditional territory. It’s a way to show respect to local First Nations of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish peoples.

Beyond the land acknowledgement we hear before school assemblies, we’re learning of personal connections to the land from older peers. They often share these connections before our morning announcements.

We’ve started to reflect on what we love about the region we live in. Here are some thoughts on what they love about living here. Students used loose parts to communicate their thinking.

Alex appreciates the forests in our region. He knows that we can find two types of trees here – cedar and Douglas fir.
Adelyn appreciates having hummingbirds in our region. She knows that the male can have some red plumage.
Dylan appreciates the trees in our region. He knows that many animals live in them.

Les cèdres

We’re learning that cedar was and continues to be an important tree for local Indigenous peoples.

We noticed there are many cedar trees near our school. On this nature walk, we focused on the branches, noting its flat needles and drooping shape.

When students rubbed its needles, they noted how good cedar smelled!

Some students found a branch from a neighbouring evergreen tree. We observed that the needles were different. They seemed sharper and bushier but were also flat. Its colour was a lighter green.

La réconciliation

Every child matters.

Chaque enfant compte.

Division 10 participated in a school-wide reconciliation activity this week. Called the “Reconciliation Rock Project”, students first listened to older peers read Trudy’s Rock Story by Gitxsan author Trudy Spiller.

Then, students searched for their own special rock on a nature walk.

Once found, they added words and/or drawings to their rocks that show solidarity with and care for Indigenous peoples of Canada.

Their next step is to explain their rock’s significance to loved ones and return it to the environment. Hopefully, members of the local community will notice and appreciate them.

(In keeping with our belief to do no harm to nature, we used Crayola washable markers. Hopefully, these messages will be seen before the next rainfall!)